Short film shows families how to provide care for the elderly

Dubai // Emirati families are being urged to become better informed about how to look after elderly relatives. The Community Development Authority (CDA) yesterday launched a short film that will be distributed to families and health workers on how to provide care for the elderly. The 25-minute film looks at everything from personal hygiene and diet to ways of ensuring the elderly are comfortable and do not become depressed.

"The main motivation behind this film is how best to provide home-care for the elderly," said Sheikh Maktoum bin Butti Al Maktoum, the authority's chief executive of social care. "It's to educate and promote awareness and to give care-givers the basics." It is one of the first initiatives of a home care for the elderly programme launched this year by the CDA, a Dubai Government authority established in 2007 to focus on social issues.

The CDA also plans to launch a mobile service by next year. Health workers will visit families caring for elderly relatives and provide them with assistance and support. Sheikh Maktoum said there was also a need to determine just how many elderly Emiratis were receiving full-time care from their families. "The whole programme is so important because it aims to improve the well-being of the elderly and encourage people to engage with them," he said. "The elderly are not abandoned, but sometimes neglected from receiving the proper care."

The short-film was shot on the grounds of the Community Centre for the Elderly, a home in Dubai that houses more than 35 elderly men and women. Several of its residents attended yesterday's screening. Ibrahim Saeed, who works at the centre, said the elderly people in his care generally do not have any close relatives or have medical conditions that require full-time assistance. Khamis Ahmed Khamis, a father of 12 from Khor Fakkan who guesses he is about 68, acted in the film. Mr Khamis, who used to work in the military, lives at home with his family and is about to marry for the third time.

"It is a holy duty to look after the elderly, who sometimes cannot survive without assistance from the family," he said. "It is very important for young people to respect their elders otherwise no one will respect them." @Email:[e-mail]